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<br />Paonia Reservoir stores water from approximately 50% of the upper watershed by <br />damming Muddy Creek at the confluence with Anthracite Creek, which forms the North <br />Fork of the Gunnison River. Muddy Creek is appropriately named. Tons of sediment has <br />historically been discharged to the North Fork from natural geologic slide areas high in <br />the Muddy Creek basin. Paonia Reservoir, which was built to supply irrigation water to <br />the Fire Mountain Canal, now traps these sediments. The dam has robbed the valley of <br />much of its historic sediment and much of the systems ability to create the fluvial <br />landforms necessary to promote the establishment of additional wetlands. <br /> <br />A few possible solutions have been proposed but they need to be thoroughly examined <br />and studied prior to implementation. It is a highly controversial and complex issue that <br />will not be solved quickly but it is a problem of enormous consequences that is prevalent <br />not only in this watershed but throughout much of the nation. <br /> <br />The research will be organized, coordinated, and supervised by Dr. David Cooper and Dr.} <br />Ellen Wohl of the Earth Sciences Dept. at Colorado State University. Graduate students <br />will perform the collection, compilation, analysis, and dissemination of data. To begin to <br />understand these issues, the following tasks have been identified: <br /> <br />Analysis of historic and current aerial photos <br />Compilation and analysis of previous studies performed prior to construction of the <br />reservOIr <br />The development of a sediment budget and water diversion budget throughout the <br />watershed <br />Geomorphic analysis of the source of the sediment and previous channel beds <br />Analysis of riparian cottonwood forests and previous wetlands established in the past <br />century for comparison with current trends <br />Habitat evaluation immediately downstream of the reservoir <br />\ Final report W1fh~n~i~;~;dr~~'om~ridahonsJ- <br /> <br />3.1.4 Plan and Design Demonstration Proiect <br />This demonstration project would incorporate recommendations developed from the <br />study ofPaonia Reservoir in order to rehabilitate the floodplain by encouraging positive <br />fluvial landform development and the creation of natural depressional areas for wetland <br />establishment. The following tasks are listed to achieve this objective: <br /> <br />Contact interested landowners and choose an appropriate site for the project <br />Perform a detailed land survey of the site <br />Design and engineer the proj ect <br />Develop cost estimates and research funding <br />